Localizing episodic titles for Netflix TV shows Creative & Technical Challenges

Rachel Melo-Walther / Katell Jentreau Netflix Globalization - November 2017 Globalization @ Netflix

Our global footprint

2014 2017

14 languages 25 languages...

41 Originals 400+ Originals

18m non-US members 56m non-US members*

*Q3 2017 Letter to Shareholders Globalization team’s mission:

Drive Globalization to create the best local user experience at scale. What we do... Product UI Non-member

Navigation A/B test Input keyboards Search RTL support

TV UI Mobile devices Web UI Metadata

Season labels Episodic titles Main titles Synopses Cast names And more...

Marketing campaigns Press releases Social Trailers Customer Service Messaging Episode Titles

העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך העולם Alt ÜstThe Upside DownVrangsiden Lumea e cu susul în jos Le monde à l’envers 뒤집힌 곳 Ylösalainen maailma ההפוך Show of hands!

Who here pays attention to episodic titles on Netflix?

Why are we talking about this?

Understanding the challenges behind sometimes obscure creative intent, and how to preserve this creative intent in all 103 - Prickly-Muffin markets... Why are we talking about this?

And the complexity of process and tools around localizing thousands of episodic titles to a global audience. The Creative Process Various types of localization

Translation Transcreation Transliteration Casete 1, lado A Stet!

La science de la barbe Sassenach Research גרייס Best cultural fit Brand consistency Diverse content

Descriptive titles

Kimmy Schmidt - Kimmy kisses a boy!

Mindhunter - Episode 7 Diverse content

References Play on words Current trends

Marvel’s Iron Fist - Eight Diagram Dragon Palm

Degrassi The Next Class - #BootyCall The Importance of the Rationale

Dark Descent Darkness Visible Insolence & Wine My Adventurous Song The Vast Abyss The Importance of the Rationale

国王崩御 The Importance of the Rationale It’s all about context! S2 riddle F Switch R Cobbler I Amarillo N G Rebecca ? S Bali Ha’i B Inflatable A C Nailed K Consistency with subs & dubs

00:19:39 - You farting sex tourist. - Oh, snap.

Santa Clarita Diet: The Farting Sex Tourist

Consistency with subs & dubs

00:35:21 - Not on my watch. Lesbian request denied. - OK, wait! I had nothing to do with that.

Orange is the New Black: Lesbian Request Denied

Consistency with subs & dubs

00:05:05 - What’d she say? - Upside down.

Stranger Things: Chapter 5: The Flea and the Acrobat

Creative input from content creators

These two episodes are about Aziz’s character Dev’s trip to Italy. Aziz wanted a feel of Italian Cinema, evoke the beauty of the Italian language and give viewers a European cinema experience. For this reason, these two episodes are in a combination of English and Italian. Master of None 201: The Thief

International Originals Challenge

“It is customary in Japan to eat soba noodles on New Year’s Eve.”

深夜食堂: Tokyo Stories 110: 年越しそば、再び

A continuous collaborative process between Language, Content, Marketing, PR & Social teams An in-depth look at Netflix Originals Episodic Titles A Unique Challenge

How to convey and preserve creative intent in 24 languages for thousands of originals episodic titles each month?

1. Respect creative intent 2. Support scale 3. Monitor quality Respect Creative Intent Get close to it! ○ Identify key players ○ Scope the ask ○ Get buy-in from stakeholders to get what you need ○ Obtain rationale directly from show runners ○ Evangelized the need for rationale, tradeoffs if not provided

Quality of localized titles

OK Better Best

No rationale provided Rationale provided by Rationale is provided someone close to directly by the show the content creators Respect Creative Intent

Manage relationship with talent and stakeholders

○ Understand what the show is and what it is not ○ Understand what they want to know about localization ○ Acknowledge what is not working and fix it ○ Create a feedback loop ○ Create transparency into your processes ○ Build trust! Respect Creative Intent

Don’t disappoint the fans! Support Scale

Define business requirements

○ How/when to kick off localization ○ Priority ○ Due dates ○ Localization expectations per content type ○ Subs or dubs match ○ Security ○ Data Support Scale

Understand dependencies ● Predecessors (title set up, subs and dubs) and successors (marketing campaigns, video processing time) determine the order and timing of tasks Support Scale

Define language team needs ○ Context and consistency with content ● Key Names and Phrases, video, rationale, show guides ○ External vs. Internal resources ○ Auto-dispatched jobs ○ Efficient grouping ○ Flexible workflows Support Scale

Build or select smart, adaptable tools ○ Tools must evolve as fast as the business ○ Have solid requirements defined before building or selecting tool ○ Prioritize features and improvements ○ Re-evaluate roadmap on a regular basis ○ Create necessary dashboards Support Scale

Communicate!

● Announce changes, feature rollouts ● Stay in touch with stakeholders ● Ask for feedback, act on it ● Share data Tools: Localization Platform Tools: Localization Reference Tool Tools: Localization Reference Tool Tools: KNP Monitor Quality

● MQM ● QC ● Social buzz ● Input from stakeholders Summary

To scale creative localization successfully:

○ Respect creative intent ○ Support scale ○ Monitor quality And you’ll go...

From this: To this: Show of hands!

Who will now pay more attention to episodic titles on Netflix? Thank you. Questions?